Article sourced from G1X by Trent Masenhelder
Finke & Tappy Rose. (Pic: Nikki Westover)
With nine wins on the bounce, six of them at Group 1 level, Winx has rightly earned the title of Australia’s latest star of the turf.
And just as Chris Waller’s champion middle-distance mare has been destroying her opposition and adding more pickets to the fence, so too has a sprinter – sold for just $5,000 – in the Northern Territory.
The Gary Clarke-trained Finke will be gunning for a seventh-consecutive victory when he steps out in Saturday’s $70,000 Darwin Guineas at Fannie Bay. The 1600m race is the first leg of the Triple Crown, which carries a $100,000 bonus.
“He’s been a really good little horse up here. Paul Denton rode him in a lot of his trackwork and he told me, ‘he’s a really nice horse – he’ll go a long way’. His judgment was right.
“He’s got a task ahead of him this weekend. He raced himself high up in the ratings which meant he didn’t qualify for the lead-up races to the Guineas.
“In saying that, he’s as fit as I can get him without having a race under his belt. He’s had a few trials.”
A three-year-old gelding by Blue Gum Farm sire Turffontein, Finke was offered by Lauriston Thoroughbred Farm at the 2014 Inglis VOBIS Yearling Sale. He first raced in South Australia under the care of Kristi Evans, where he was unplaced in four starts. Since venturing north, Finke has improved his record to six wins from 10 starts and $107,670 in earnings.
“I sent him down to Kristi to be properly educated. There are no two-year-old races in Darwin, so we thought he could have a few starts in Adelaide,” Clarke said.
“I wanted him back for the three-year-old season in Darwin. I just put one hurdle at a time in front of him and he kept jumping them.
“I thought he might be a bit brilliant to run a mile, but as I’ve stretched him out he looks like he might be a better stayer than a sprinter.”
If all goes to plan, Finke is likely to head to the second leg of the Triple Crown – the NT Derby on July 16.
